LabLink
Globus Group and Vision Express had a vision to connect optical laboratories together though smart data and technology.
Working in collaboration, we designed and developed LabLink – a cloud-based platform to streamline the manufacture and distribution of prescription eyewear throughout the UK & Europe. Handling thousands of transactions week-on-week, it was vital to ensure the entire process and all user interactions moved data seamlessly between stores, suppliers and distribution networks.
A brand linked
Developing a brand that mirrored the platform was crucial: clinical simplicity. The ID needed to convey a sense of clarity, but deliver impact that could channel results and adaption.
These three core principles were integral in the platform’s development. They are deep-rooted in the functionality and how the system positively compliments workflow. They also accented the brand ID and how the platform is explained.
UX + User Interface
Lablink was integrated into the operations of the laboratory and administrative team, we worked closely to design and test experiences that would optimise workflow and streamline processes. The interface was designed to load information seamlessly in the background, alleviating the need to navigate to other pages to perform tasks. We designed components to optimise the teams experience, working to make every user interaction smart.
By automating many of the tasks required to manufacture prescription glasses such as invoicing, dynamic prescriptions, system integrations, it is estimated to have saved the team over 2000 hours annually.
Connecting to SAP
LabLink was designed to manage the manufacture and distribution of prescription glasses. Initially the primary objective was to integrate with SAP, an enterprise ERP used by Vision Express. We worked closely with their team in the UK and the Netherlands throughout the project to design how the integration will work through an EDI. We adhered to extensive data protocols to send and retrieve data over an encrypted cloud-based connection. The data was being transferred from over 550 stores across the UK and was seamlessly processed by LabLink to then fulfil and deliver each order.
Smart processing with Microsoft NAV
We worked in collaboration with the Microsoft NAV developers to integrate a RESTful API into LabLink, the API served as a bridge between NAV and Lablink. We produced a full suite of documentation that enabled developers to reference and use the API simply, NAV queried the API to retrieve information for purposes such as invoicing, the data was provided in a very strict XML based format which made it easy for the team to integrate into Miscrosoft NAV.
How it works
As a showcase, we developed a simplified story of how the platform was developed and how it works. It features the role of the partners involved and the journey of an order’s lifecycle.
